There’s serious pressure mounting at Dundee.
Losing to Aberdeen at the weekend has ramped it up; there’s no doubt about that.
But even before that fixture, it was there.
Heavy defeats to Hearts and Celtic saw to that. Along with how tight the league has become.
Tony Docherty’s side have been hovering around the middle of the table for most of the season.
All of a sudden, they’ve slumped into 11th place – the relegation play-off spot – with basement boys St Johnstone six points behind them.
Ross County occupy 10th in the table, two points ahead of the Dee.
And that means this weekend’s clash with the Staggies in Dingwall is absolutely huge, along with the following two; a midweek trip to Motherwell, followed by St Johnstone at Dens Park.
To illustrate how crucial these games are, here are a couple of scenarios…
If the Dee beat County and Well, while Saints lose their equivalent fixtures, the Dark Blues will have a 12-point lead over their visitors from Perth come kick-off on March 1.
On the other hand, should Dundee lose to County and Motherwell, while St Johnstone win their games, the Dee will be bottom of the league on goal difference and playing to avoid falling further behind.
These next few games feel make-or-break for me.
Yes, Docherty has decent individual players in his squad, and yes, they are capable of scoring goals.
But the ease with which they concede has been their Achilles heel all season long.
Simply put, they have not defended well enough as a team.
Injury problems have contributed to the situation; there can be no doubt about that.
But to have conceded 55 goals (the most in the Premiership) in 26 games is unacceptable.
That’s an average of just over two goals per game.
If that’s your starting point, you’re giving yourself a mountain to climb to win matches, because, on average, you’re going to need to score three to tip the balance in your favour.
The pressure is on – Dundee must shut the back door. And now is the time to do it.
If they can’t find a way, they’ll quickly find themselves in even more serious trouble than they’re already in.
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